My Story

At age 12 I submitted some of my paintings to an art college in Melbourne (unbeknownst to my parents) and was accepted for enrolment - until they found out how young I was; it seemed my dreams of being an artist had to go on hold for a bit.

From there life took over, and the advice throughout my teens that it would be wise to ‘get a qualification’, that ‘art is very hard to earn a living from’ etc etc. These were the days before the internet and certainly before social media. My art options were very limited.

My inspiration comes primarily from a love of beauty, of scenes that are inspiring, that give you that ‘all is well with the world’ feeling; of appreciating mother nature and the things she creates for us to gaze upon, smell the scent of, and at times, fill us with awe. This has been with me all my life.

I adore using florals in my pieces – not only capturing the enormous and seemingly endless, diversity of structure and colour combinations, but also the symbolic meanings they represent is what really resonates with me. Flowers that symbolise transformation, resilience and self-discovery are favourites.

I have a large garden at home, and I have to say, during the depths of the pandemic, the ability to go outside, immerse myself into the garden and tune out the rest of the world was mentally and emotionally a great solace and comfort to me. Outside of painting (and reading), gardening is high on my list!

I also love the motif of the butterfly – the transformation from a caterpillar (which to first impressions appears to be a mostly plain, not a particularly captivating or interesting being, eating everything in its path!) that goes into its cocoon (chrysalis period, which to me is a time of self-discovery, working on  improving, recognising and having the courage to bring out your talents, skills and true self); finally  metamorphosing into a stunning, delicate, truly beautiful creature, that now has the ability to fly, giving it significant freedom, exercising its full talents and unashamedly being it’s true self. Elements that were there all along, deep within the caterpillar, but were yet to express, utilising all its glory within. This really speaks to me.

To me a painting should be inspiring, bringing beauty and tranquility into the room and a reminder that all is well and it’s never too late to be who you truly are.

I have painted all my life, however in 2015 I was invited to participate at the London Biennale (so exciting!!) - from there my artwork was catapulted onto the international stage, being invited to exhibit all over the world - self represented: